Michael Brewer, the former Deerfield Beach teenager who was set afire by classmates in 2009, has been jailed in Palm Beach County three separate times within the past 10 weeks for drug court violations, records show.

Two teenagers accused of setting schoolmate Michael Brewer on fire in a Deerfield Beach parking lot more than two years ago pleaded no contest to second degree attempted murder Wednesday, throwing themselves on the mercy of a Broward judge instead of...

It's been a tough time for theater in South Florida.
Doors have been shuttered at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, Florida Stage (now the new home of The Plaza Theatre), Promethean Theatre, Caldwell Theatre Company and Rising Action Theatre (recently reborn...

The Deerfield Beach teenager who survived a fiery assault more than a month ago has finally provided detectives with his account of the attack, the Broward Sheriff's Office said Monday.
Michael Brewer, 15, spoke to investigators Monday in his room at the...

Michael Brewer has spoken.
Two days after the 15-year-old burning victim was taken off a ventilator, he made a hoarse, raspy request of the nurses treating him at the Jackson Memorial Hospital Burn Center.
His words were less profound than they were practical – he asked for a dollar so he could buy french fries and a milkshake – but family members are nothing short of elated.
"We're all crying tears of joy," said Brewer's great-aunt, Patti Gendron. She described Brewer's parents as very...

Touched by the plight of the Deerfield Beach teenager who was recently surrounded by schoolmates and set on fire, donors continue to come forward to support Michael Brewer and his family.
In one night this week, patrons and staff at Galuppi's in Pompano Beach raised more than $10,000 for the fund set up by Neighbors 4 Neighbors. Organizers of that event said it would seem minor compared to what they're planning for Nov. 21, when the restaurant will host a benefit featuring Miami Dolphins players and...

The youngest of the five teenagers accused of surrounding their Deerfield Beach schoolmate last week and setting him on fire cannot legally be tried as an adult, the lead prosecutor on the case said Friday.
Jeremy Jarvis, 13, is too young to be tried in adult court under Florida law unless he faces a capital or life felony, said Assistant State Attorney Maria Schneider. With 15-year-old Michael Brewer recuperating at the Jackson Memorial Hospital Burn Center in Miami, the most serious possible charge...

The mother of a 15-year-old boy accused of helping set a Deerfield Beach teen on fire says she feels sorry for the victim, but she doesn't believe her son was involved.
"I feel so sorry for [Michael Brewer], I really do," Patricia Hollis, the mother of Steven Sheldon, told WFOR-Ch. 4.
"And it's sad. It really is," Hollis said.
Sheldon, of Deerfield Beach, and four other boys are charged with aggravated battery in the Monday attack.
One of the boys, Jesus Mendez, 15, of Pompano Beach, also is charged...

According to Sheriff's Sgt. Steve Feeley, the feud that put 15-year-old Michael Brewer in the hospital with severe burns started when the teen borrowed $40 from Matthew Bent to buy a video game.
He never paid him back.
In return, Bent, 15, tried to steal a custom, $500 bike belonging to Brewer's father Sunday night.
Brewer called police, and Bent was arrested as he tried to run off with the bike.
Bent, released from the juvenile center Monday morning, didn't go to class at Deerfield Beach Middle...

Burn victim Michael Brewer took another step in his recovery Tuesday, by moving out of the intensive care unit at the University of Miami-Jackson Memorial Hospital burn center.
But Brewer still has a long way to go, his doctors say. He is expected to spend months in the hospital and undergo several skin grafs. Jackson officials described his condition as "guarded."
Brewer suffered burns over more than 65 percent of his body last month after he was doused in rubbing alcohol and set on fire by schoolmates...